Micro and miniaturized flow controllers for gas chromathography (TPC.5610)

The aim of this project is to develop a miniature instrument for the control of gas flow - a so-called flow controller. An important application of the flow controller is in gas chromatography, which is a system for chemical analysis of gases. Since there is a strong trend to miniaturise these systems - small systems use small amounts of materials, smaller samples can be analysed, portable systems come into reach - small flow controllers are demanded. Flow controllers comprise of controllable valves, flow sensors and control electronics. The research subject in this proposal is directed mainly to the miniature valve, which currently forms the bottleneck in the development of miniature flow controllers. We propose a new design of a valve, which has the attractive feature that no power is required to keep the valve at a freely chosen position. Three ways for realisation of the valve will be explored: silicon micromachining, a combination of micromachining and conventional fine mechanics and micromachining by using electroplated nickel. The latter technology is the most challenging yet the most promising in terms of size and material. Research and - as well parallel as subsequent - development will be carried out by a consortium formed by the micromechanics group op MESA+ (focus on research: valve design, modelling, fabrication by micromachining) and by the company Bronkhorst HighTech (focus on development: controller design, electronics and fine mechanics).

More information can be found on the website of the research group.

Four companies are involved in this project.